


you're a flashlight in a dark room

by alltears



Series: savior complex [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Comfort, Developing Friendships, Dorian Pavus is a Good Friend, Dragon Age: Inquisition Quest - In Hushed Whispers, First Meetings, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Haven (Dragon Age), Inquisitor & Dorian Pavus Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Natasha Trevelyan, Redcliffe (Dragon Age), Swearing, natasha meeting dorian: FINALLY a cool person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29826453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltears/pseuds/alltears
Summary: Dorian and Natasha Trevelyan were brought together by the Maker for a reason: to care for each other during this time of war, and to annoy everyone else while doing it.(Cassandra Disapproves)(Vivienne Disapproves)(Varric Greatly Approves)
Relationships: Dorian Pavus & Female Trevelyan, Female Inquisitor & Dorian Pavus, Varric Tethras & Female Trevelyan
Series: savior complex [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030170
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	you're a flashlight in a dark room

**Author's Note:**

> this is pure fluffy friendship nonsense. enjoy!!
> 
> cw: none
> 
> title from be nice to me by the front bottoms
> 
> dorian/inky friendship playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7EdtE7H7hJiqfe4dwmhWty?si=fxo54ZZcQnOF3dg4qAa4NA

Natasha Trevelyan was ready to murder everyone in Redcliffe if they didn’t start getting their shit together. Despite being a rogue, she’d admired mages since she was a girl. Her older brother had Circle tutors visit occasionally, for some business or another that Trevelyan wasn’t important enough to know about. More than that, she never thought it was right the way Templars treated mages like they were animals, tools. They were  _ people _ , with thoughts and feelings… How was that hard to see?

Then, Trevelyan travelled to Redcliffe Village with Cassandra, Varric, and Vivienne, and for the first time, she was rethinking her stance.

Indenturing yourself and your entire people to a Tevinter magister? What the fuck was that? As always, she did her best to keep her ‘Inquisitor’ face on, but there was a reason she wasn’t the matriarch of her house; she wore her heart on her sleeve, no matter how hard she tried to bite her tongue.

The tavern door slammed behind them. Trevelyan took four steps before crouching down and screaming into her hands.

“Agreed,” Cassandra drawled behind her. Good to know she wasn’t the only one pissed, then. She huffed and stood, turning to her team behind her.

“Well, shit!” Trevelyan threw her arms in the air, exasperated. “What now?”

“This is so unlike the Grand Enchantress. Something is deeply wrong here,” Vivienne noted, seeming genuinely unnerved for the first time since joining Haven.

“We could always visit the Templars,” Cassandra shrugged. It was nice to have that option, but she couldn’t just ignore this situation now that she was aware of it. The note that boy, Felix, slipped her was burning a hole in her breast pocket. As annoyed as she was, it didn’t make the mystery any less intriguing. She turned to Varric.

“Don’t look at me!” Trevelyan raised her eyebrows. “Shit. Well… We’re already here. The Templars are probably just as fucked up in their own fun way, right?”

“Maker. Yes, probably,” the whole team had sour looks on their faces. “To the chantry, then. Ugh.”

\---

“Good! You’re  _ finally  _ here! Now help me close this, would you?”

The man’s accent was Tevinter, which put Trevelyan on edge, but he was fighting fade demons and looked good doing it, so she somersaulted into the fray.

A shitload of slicing demons and thrashings of her hand at the rift later, the intricately-dressed man whirled around to face Trevelyan, his eyes bright for someone who just had demons up his ass.

“Fascinating! How does that work, exactly?” He pondered aloud. Trevelyan glanced down at her marked hand and back to the ‘Vint, trying to think of something impressive to say. Apparently, she took too long, as he laughed in her face. “You don’t even know, do you? You just waggle your fingers, and  _ boom _ ! Rift closes!” Varric snickered from a few feet away.

“Er… It’s more like…” Trevelyan coughed. “Who are you?”

“Ah, getting ahead of myself again, I see. Dorian of House Pavus, most recently of Minrathous. How do you do?”

“Another Tevinter. Be cautious with this one,” Cassandra instructed non-discreetly. Dorian, instead of being offended, laughed again.

“Suspicious friends you have here!”

“They’re good people, once you get used to the general animosity,” Trevelyan smirked. Cassandra was absolutely right - she had no reason to trust Dorian, and yet she wasn’t afraid of him. Perhaps it was his charming good looks, or the way he smiled openly and laughed freely. She’d never seen a ‘Vint like that before.

“Ah, so we have something in common, then,” Dorian bowed shallowly towards Cassandra and Vivienne good-naturedly. “Felix should be here shortly, if you were expecting him.”

“Are you a magister?” Vivienne asked. Dorian sighed.

“Alright, let’s say this once. Yes, I am a mage from Tevinter, but not a member of the Magisterium. I know you southerners use the terms interchangeably, but that only makes you sound like barbarians.”

Alright, maybe he was a little off-putting. He spoke all… fancy, like there was something to prove waiting around in an empty church.

“My guess is we got hung-up on the slaves and blood magic part of Tevinter,” Varric chimed in, helpful as ever.

“Ah, southerners. Always taking the worst actions of few and judging the many. You all didn’t learn your lesson after Kirkwall?” Dorian bit back. Trevelyan winced. Varric wasn’t a fan of people bringing up Kirkwall. To her surprise, Varric shrugged.

“Guess not.”

Silence.

Dorian sniffed.

More silence. The awkwardness was killing her.

“I… like your moustache,” Trevelyan announced. A slow smile made its way across Dorian’s face.

“Why thank you, Herald.”

\---

“What. The. Fuuuuuuuck?” Trevelyan was at a loss for words. Her and Dorian were thrown forwards in time, killed Alexius, fell back in time, fought Alexis  _ again _ , and then, bam! King Alistair and Queen Cousland swagger up to them and evict the mages! Why not! All that, and they got a couple hundred mage friends. Wonderful.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself!” Dorian chirped. How he still managed to stay so upbeat was mind-boggling. Trevelyan shifted her feet on the dirt outside Redcliffe Castle, unsure of what to do or where to go. Cassandra had stared between her and Dorian, her eye twitching, and stomped off to the horses with Vivienne - both women she was certainly not looking forward to confronting about this.

“How you holdin’ up, Rosy?” Varric asked.

“As well as I can be after being fucked by the concept of time, I’d say.”

“Fair enough,” Varric smiled warmly. “I’ll calm the Seeker down, and we can head back to camp.”

“Thanks, Varric,” Trevelyan sighed. It’d been a long-ass day. “Sorry, I’m not usually so crass. Er. I am, but not in public. It’s a side-effect from time travel, I’m sure.”

Dorian snorted. “I’ll make a note of that in my research. Where’s this camp of yours?”

“A few miles south. Why, are you staying with us?”

“I simply adore the south. I’d be remiss if I didn’t join up with your little team for a bit, just to see the sights.”

“I’m a little surprised. You don’t want to go back to Tevinter?” Dorian shifted, tense.

“I’m not exactly welcome back anytime soon, unfortunately…”

“Oh,” Trevelyan smirked and held out her hand. “Hey, that’s your business. Welcome aboard. May I just say, there is no one else I’d rather be stranded in time with.”

Dorian grinned and shook her hand.

“Happy to help, Herald.”

\---

The pair was insufferably inseparable, after that. If one was looking for Trevelyan at Haven, it was best to skip her cabin or the war room and head straight to Dorian’s haunt near Adan’s apothecary. Trevelyan liked Dorian, simple as that. Truly, she liked all the members of their little troupe, but Dorian has a calming presence on her. Whenever she spoke to Leliana or Cassandra, she was bound to be questioned on her faith; Vivienne wanted to reestablish the Circles, which sounded like a nightmare to her; Cullen was alright, but not good for a laugh; Solas was… just generally the worst, really; Varric and Josephine were lovely, but those conversations were usually heavy as well.

Enter Dorian Pavus, always ready to make Trevelyan laugh with his extravagant stories and pompous way of speaking. He was pure amusement, and Trevelyan reveled in it. Often, he seemed just as confused about the Inquisition as she was, which was comforting. Most of others gave her disapproving looks when she made jokes in times of distress, but when Dorian was with her, she could practically feel waves of approval coming off him.

  
There was someone in his corner, not only as a diplomat or a commander, but as a  _ friend _ . Someone on the field who wanted to hold her hand when she was hurt, to pick herbs and flowers she had missed, to voice her own complaints through the Storm Coast. Finally, finally, finally, someone felt like home.

**Author's Note:**

> MAN i love these two. am i projecting? yes!!!!!! deal with it!!!! i hope you enjoyed! leave a comment and a kudos, they really inspire me to keep writing :)
> 
> twitter: trobed_  
> tumblr: alltears


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